


Manicure

by Roseeater (eki_fuuten)



Series: What Eevees Saw [5]
Category: Pokemon GO, pokemon: and the world will turn to ash - Fandom
Genre: Alcohol, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-13
Updated: 2017-08-13
Packaged: 2018-12-14 16:03:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11786616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eki_fuuten/pseuds/Roseeater
Summary: Summary: A set of circumstances leads to Blanche having their nails done by both Candela and Noire. This really shouldn't lead to any problems but as Blanche is tired and doesn't want to be here and Spark is an airhead the twins end up having some feelings they wish they didn't.Also included:Sleep deprivationEevees are cuteDon't hit natuHangoversTiny shiny eeveesNote: Flashlight is a character introduced in a previous fic:  http://archiveofourown.org/works/9123958





	Manicure

To an outsider the scene probably looked quite endearing: Blanche sitting on a fancy couch with a slight pout, flanked by Candela and Noire, both of whom worked on Blanche's nails in deep concentration. If you added the fact that all three were dressed to kill you could take the scene for some elaborate photoshoot. You had to know the leaders well for your reaction to be...

'What the hell is happening?'

Amelie turned her head slowly from the scene she was observing and saw Go, whose face mirrored the slight horror present in his voice and was so pale it created a nice contrast with the smart black suit he was wearing.

'What do you think is going on?' Amelie gestured with the glass she was holding; the ice clinked in the yet untouched drink - she was holding off until she was sure there would be no bloodspill. 'Blanche is getting a manicure from Candela and Noire.'

'Is… is this safe?' he asked.

'Well, a metal nail file is a pretty good murder weapon and they're both using one.' Amelie couldn't help but smile a little seeing the uttermost dread on Go's face.

'Yes, it's definitely those small pieces of metal that make them lethally dangerous.' Carl had no qualms about drinking and was already on his second glass. This wasn't an achievement of any kind, but given that the red carpet was still going and the actual event wasn't supposed to start for another half an hour it gave him a pretty good head-start.

Go swallowed audibly.

'How… did this happen?'  
 

***

   
'Blanche, why aren't you ready?'

Blanche put down the towel they were using to dry their hair and looked at Annie with confusion.

'I've only come out of the pool and was hoping to get a nap. Isn't the event in well over two hours?'

'Darling, we're guests of honor, we have to arrive as one of the first ones on the red carpet!' Candela came into the room with an elegant flourish of her fancy shawl. 'We can find you a place to nap when we get there.'

Blanche made a face. They were scientists, not celebrities. Blanche didn't understand what was the point of coming early to show up on the red carpet and then waiting a lot of time for the gala to start officially - time that could have been used for research or a nap in private surroundings.

'Can't you just go without me? It's not like it's an event related to pokemon.' Blanche knew it was a longshot but it was worth to try.

'Blanche dear, research costs money and here we're gonna meet sponsors that usually don't appear at pokemon-related events. And your face will probably convince some of them to support our cause.'

Blanche looked at Candela, dressed in a stunning red and gold gown and an exquisite transparent shawl. When the news of the leaders being guests of honor popped up fashion designers flocked to Candela like wild pidgeys to a dropped poffin, each trying to have her wear their outfit. Curiously, the same thing happened to Blanche; apparently a movies-related event was somehow also fashion-oriented? The details were kind of fuzzy for Blanche; all they knew is they had wasted an afternoon trying on different outfits under Candela's critical eye after helping Candela choose hers - although it seemed to Blanche Candela didn't need their help but for some reason enjoyed the whole thing.

'I'm pretty sure you are plenty enough,' they shrugged.

Candela beamed at them.

'Nonsense, darling. Let's get you dry and ready to go.'

 

Candela’s efficiency was really impressive when it came to grooming; it wasn’t even ten minutes after she first entered the room when they were already leaving, Blanche dressed and made-up. To be fair, Blanche already had the outfit prepared beforehand - this would have allowed them to nap longer - but Candela made Annie dry Blanche’s hair while she did their make-up, which left for Blanche putting on the earrings and waiting till they weredone. This also meant Blanche ended up wearing more make-up than they would normally, but they had to admit Candela’s skill with the eyeliner was superb and the wings she drew were flawless.

Blanche grabbed the purse, which contained their phone with the newest set of reports to check on it, sighed deeply and followed Candela to the car.

   
*  
  


Even though they were in the first wave the limousine still waited in a line of similar black limousines, which one by one let out dressed-up people onto the red carpet, straight into the swarms of reporters armed with cameras. Candela checked her make-up in a pocket mirror and looked around at her companions.

Blanche was looking at their phone, reading something in deep concentration. Judging by the wrinkle in their eyebrows they were reading a report from yesterday's experiment, which ended abruptly with two interns blowing up one of the labs. Spark was telling Carl excitedly about a new batch of unusual eggs which arrived in the Instinct hatchery two days ago; he was wearing a smart dark-grey suit Candela chose to fit the yellow Instinct tie Spark was set on to wear. Go and Annie were listening with polite interest. Annie was wearing a tasteful blue dress and a Mystic pendant Candela knew Blanche commissioned for Annie's Birthday. Go was dressed in the same suit he wore to all official events - probably the only one he owned - but he looked good in it and there was an Instinct pin in his lapel.

All in all, Candela approved: everyone could be identified as belonging to the teams and also everyone looked well. Of course, no one in the company could beat how well Candela and Blanche looked. Candela let her eyes fall on Blanche again.

The outfit Blanche chose was a long dress, simple and elegant. It was similar in style to their favorite dress but slightly more flashy, made of Mystic-blue silk with a very subtle Articuno pattern stitched in a thin purple thread. There was no doubt it was custom-designed for them and the designer’s guess was perfect - it was Blanche’s choice the moment they put their eyes on it, although Candela still had made them try on all the other ones. It was a pleasure, seeing Blanche dressed up in so many ways.

The limousine almost got to the red carpet, only two other cars before them. Spark stopped talking and looked in the direction they were going and so did everybody else - even Blanche raised their head from the report. The door of the car just before theirs opened and Blanche froze seeing the pair that came out of it.

'I'm not going.' Blanche said in such a definite way Candela knew who she's going to see even before she looked out of the window.

It was worse than she expected, though.

Candela knew of the possibility of Noire appearing, as Rocked was involved in the biggest movie this season and Blanche's twin was their poster child. The fact that the Rocket representative came just before them was - Candela's leg twitched - a nuisance. But to make it worse Noire wasn't wearing a suit this time; they were wearing a dress. Not any dress, no - the dress had almost the same cut as Blanche's and although the color palette was black and Rocket red, the subtle pattern of umbreon stitched on it mirrored the Articuno pattern on Blanche's dress.

The dresses made a perfect set.

Candela made a mental note to have Words with the designer after the gala was over. Now, however, there was another problem to solve.

'You cannot stay in the limo, Blanche, they're hired only to get us here.' Annie looked pretty desperate.

'I think I have a solution,' Spark took Blanche in his arms and lifted.

'Put me down you brute!' Blanche's eyes and legendary mark glowed blue.

Candela jumped to Blanche and smacked them lightly on the head. 'Remember what Professor Willow said: no Legendaries at the gala unless faced with a mortal threat!'

Blanche looked at Candela slightly stunned but they stopped struggling and their eyes faded back to green. Spark didn't put them down, though; he waited until Go opened the door, carried Blanche out and only put them down onto the red carpet. Candela followed suit and she realized Spark had put Blanche down right next to a stunned Noire and put an arm around each of them. Noire was close to punching Spark away but their tiny assistant - bless that girl, she knew how to wear a little black dress - barked something at them and fell away. Candela thought she ought to save Blanche…

...but maybe not before halfway down the red carpet, she thought, It was just too amusing seeing them embarrassed and blushing slightly while Spark showed the twins off to the reporters.

'Are you enjoying this Miss Candela?' Carl stopped next to her.

'I _was_ looking forward to appearing with Blanche in the photos. This is going to cause some wild speculations.'

'This is why you've let Spark drag them away so easily?'

Candela looked daggers at Carl. Perceptive bastard.

'If you excuse me, I have work to do,' she adjusted her shawl.

'Just remember, Miss Candela, the fact that you are dressed to kill doesn't mean you are allowed to actually kill Mx. Noire.'

'Charles, are you complimenting me or dissing me?'

'Yes, Miss Candela.'

Candela looked at Carl's innocent expression. He definitely deserved to be Valor Two, as the collar of his flawlessly ironed shirt proudly stated.

She took a step towards the reporters and smiled dazzlingly.  
 

*  
 

'Let me go birdbrain!' Noire struggled in Spark's grip but Blanche didn't feel like fighting him. It's not like they weren't used to being a centre of attention - though it didn't mean it made them feel comfortable - but this was somehow... overwhelming.

It was different in a way that steered up old memories.

Maybe it was because of different circumstances, where it didn't really matter who Blanche was as a person, or the fact that it was inevitable they would be compared to Noire, both wearing similar outfits, but for once Spark's overwhelming familiarity was reassuring. They would have preferred to have Candela next to them, to be honest, but their current top priority was to get through this hellhole of weird attention as fast as possible.

Another stop at another nest of reporters and Blanche had to resist the urge to just run towards the building. Yet both Annie and Candela kept reminding them that this was part of the _job_ for the whole past week, and the path was blocked anyway by actors and celebrities posing for the pictures. Blanche tried to look as indifferent as possible while trying to distance themselves from the chaos around and let Spark lead them.

When they felt a characteristically warm hand on their shoulder they couldn't help but breathe out in relief.

'I thought we were supposed to pose to the pictures together, darling?'

'It's not my fault you've let yourself fall behind.' Blanche wiggled out of Spark's grip and went closer to Candela, letting their fingers brush lightly her hips, seeking out her warmth and presence.

'That's because I couldn't believe Spark would mix quality with trash.' Candela put her arm around Blanche and posed for another flock of reporters.  
 

*  
 

A soon as she saw Blanche pale Candela realized that being with Spark and Noire wasn't the only thing that made them uncomfortable. Unlike Candela, who blossomed in the limelight, Blanche felt ill-at-ease in situations like this. Maybe it was self-consciousness or maybe some old memories from Cipher; either way Candela didn't want to torment Blanche in that kind of way. She rushed to Blanche's side and the relief she saw in their eyes made her feel slightly guilty for leaving them at all.

Candela led Blanche through the crowds, trying to balance letting their photos being taken and making the passage as brief as possible. Blanche was acting like nothing was wrong and they managed to look it, but their hand was gripping a frill on Candela's back a little too tightly for them to be at ease.

When they finally went through the door into the foyer and left the reporters behind Blanche visibly relaxed.

'You can let go now, darling.' Blanche looked at Candela with confusion; it seemed they didn't realize they were clinging to her. They let go, looked at their hand, stiff and pale from gripping Candela's dress tightly, and slowly opened and closed it to relax the cramped muscles.

'Blanche, what is this?' Noire's scandalised voice made Blanche freeze. Candela felt flames rise in her as Blanche turned slowly towards their twin, face calm but some weird apprehension visible in their eyes. 'What's with those nails?'

'What?' The flames in Candela died down as she grabbed Blanche's hand. 'Blanche, you told me you did your nails in the morning.'

'I… did.'

'And what did you do right after?'

Blanche considered the question.

'Well, I had to take care of lapras and then we had a training with my vaporeon and gyarados in the pool…'

Candela groaned and, to her irritation, Noire did the same. Blanche's nails illustrated their day pretty well: the half- transparent nail varnish had half flaked off from the water and two of the nails were broken from the force Blanche gripped Candela's dress with.

'It's not like anyone will notice…' Blanche frowned looking at their nails.

'Darling, _everyone_ will notice. Even the trash noticed.'

'Hey!' Noire barked. Candela knew they looked exceptionally non-trashy at the moment but she didn't need to admit that.

'Look, it's not like I can do anything about it now…'

'Nonsense, darling.' Candela took out a nail file from her purse. 'There is still lots of time. Carl, can you organise Dior's _Alolan Sky_?'

'Sure, Miss Candela.' Carl took his phone and went to the side, his expression amused.

Noire snorted.

'I can take care of it instantly; I have my varnish and file with me.'

'Yours is probably some low-quality, tasteless one. Blanche doesn't need something like that.'

'Excuse you, I go for quality - this varnish needs to withstand battle-heavy missions!'

'And why do you even have it with you? Were you finishing your manicure in the car coming here?'

Noire's face went red. Bullseye. Candela looked into their eyes challengingly; Noire bared their teeth.

'Blanche, dear' Candela didn't take her eyes of Noire's face. 'Don't run away, we're gotta fix those nails.'

'I am not going to be a cause of a fight here and a subsequent scandal.'

'Then tell us, darling, whose varnish do you want to use.'

'I don't want to use any varnish right now,' Blanche replied flatly.

'Blanche, we're getting those nails fixed if I have to do it myself.'

'I am not letting you near Blanche with a sharp object, Rocket,' Candela hissed. ‘It's not like Blanche would want you to help, do you Blanche?''

'I just want to go home,' Blanche sighed. Candela pursed her lips; why was Blanche like this?

'Guys, I don't think this is something you need to argue about,' Spark came between Candela and Noire, his face sweet ignorance.

'Thank you, Spark,' Blanche exhaled in relief while Candela looked at him with incredulity.

'See, I have an idea,' Spark continued cheerfully.  
 

***  
 

'SPARK PROPOSED THIS?' Go put his face in his hands. 'Why did I think it would be safe to leave him for ten minutes unsupervised?'

Amelie looked at Go with pity and offered him her glass.

'Untouched' she said. 'I'd rather keep my reaction time as long as Noire, Candela and two potential weapons occupy the same two square meters.'

Go eyed the glass then sighed.

'No, I'm… fine for now.'

'Hey guys' Spark's bubbly voice sounded from the direction of the couch. 'Would you do my nails next?'

Go stiffened.

'You know what Amelie? I think I'll take that glass after all.'  
 

*  
 

'Honestly, how long can it take?'

'Sit still!' Candela and Noire said in unison and instantly looked daggers at one another.

Blanche sighed. To be honest this wasn't unpleasant, but they've only managed to sleep four hours last night and had been really counting on that nap. They took a deep breath, closed their eyes and leaned back on the couch; the gentle touch on their hands was quite pleasant, maybe this was why Candela liked getting manicure so much...

 

'Blanche, it's time.' Blanche woke with a start and needed a couple of seconds to realise where they were - then they recognised the room Candela and Noire bullied the staff to let them use. When Blanche had closed their eyes the room was full of assistants and leaders; now only Candela was there, glistening in her evening gown and smiling. 'They're waiting for us,' she said.

Had this been anyone else Blanche would have tired to talk their way out of going and simply stayed in the room, but they knew they had no chance of that with Candela. Blanche got up, stretched and followed Candela down the corridor.  
 

*  
 

The party was already in full swing and the room was huge, sprawling to the sides with staircases that led to even more floorspace. Candela was leading Blanche down a flight of stairs towards the main area and Blanche mused at the crowds. Then they remembered why they went away from there in the first place and decided to check out Candela and Noire's handiwork.

Blanche looked at their left hand; the nails were painted with a slightly glittery black and for some reason filed sharp; it reminded Blanche of the bondeds' nails when the titans took over. It was really neatly done and didn't look bad, although it had a very Noire vibe, especially that for some reason there was an eevee nail sticker on their middle finger.

Blanche looked at their right hand. The nails were a beautiful almond shape. Even though Candela asked Carl for the varnish and just gave him the brand and name somehow the color was a perfect match for Blanche's dress. And on the thumb…

'Candy?'

Candela stopped on the stairs and beamed back at them.

'Yes darling?'

‘Why is there a Valor symbol on my nail? I am not Valor.’

‘It’s a sign of belonging.’

‘I do not belong to Valor.’ Blanche frowned at Candela, who for some reason sighed.

‘You belong to the titans.’ Blanche felt a gloved hand on the nape of their neck and turned to face Spark. Spark's eyes shone Zapdos’ gold, his smile between a grin and a threat. ‘I can’t fail to notice that between Articuno’s mark on your arm and Moltres’ mark on your nail you seem to be missing one…’ Spark leaned towards Blanche’s naked shoulder, teeth barred.

‘Oi!’ A cherry hit Spark on the head and stuck in his uncharacteristically well-combed hair. ‘Stop blocking the passage, asshole, or I’ll spill this drink on you.’

Spark eyes faded to blue as he turned to face Noire, standing two steps above him with their glass raised and fuming.

‘Wait, wait!’ He raised one hand in a submission gesture while trying to extract the cherry from his hair with the other. ‘What the hell, Noire, why is this so sticky? Just how much sugar is in your drink?’

'Enough to drown out the bitterness of having to be here with you!'

'So it's just pure syrup there.' Blanche looked their twin in the eye and the mutual understanding made Blanche hastily turn their eyes away before an uncontrollable smile could appear on their lips.

‘So how do you like your nails?’ Noire asked when Spark left for the bathroom to wash off the sweet stickiness off his hair and gloves. Blanche raised their middle finger at Noire.

‘What is this?’

Noire bristled for a moment, until they realised what Blanche was showing.

‘Oh… what, eevees are cute, aren’t they?’ Noire pouted and showed Blanche their own nails; they were painted with the same varnish as Blanche’s and each nail sported a sticker of either an eevee or an eeveelution. This was a Noire they knew from the past, not the one that did everything they could to destroy them...

'So you wanted to give me something cute?' The words escaped Blanche's mouth before they managed to stop them. Noire looked at them with surprise and hesitated…

'Leader Blanche, Leader Candela,' Annie came to them, a little out of breath. 'They're waiting for you.'

Blanche looked back at Noire, but the accidentally rekindled connection was broken again - Noire was glaring at Candela, whose presence they’d apparently forgotten for a moment.

Blanche felt Candela's warm hand grabbing their arm.

'Let's go,' she said with that slight edge Blanche knew meant Candela was suppressing her anger.  
 

*  
 

The party was in full swing and so far there was not bloodspill, even though Candela and Noire had been close to each other at least five times this evening. So far the only casualties of the Go Project members were: two unlucky actors who tried to intrude on Blanche's and Carl's conversation and who Spark saw cry in the corner afterwards, wrist of a man who tried to touch Amelie without her consent, and a suit of another man, who didn't understand that when Candela says 'No' it means _no_ and whose bladder wasn't ready for the front seat of the Valor Leader's Anger Show.

All in all, by the leaders' standards it was as peaceful as it could get.

Spark was enjoying himself immensely, and the fact that people kept thinking he was an actor made this even more fun. He was now standing and talking with Blanche, Carl and Amelie - a combination quite unlikely under most other circumstances and one that probably contained more sass than the rest of the room.

This also meant he was the target for a lot of the sass, but it was actually quite amusing. The only inconvenience was him gradually getting more thirsty; but that could be remedied easily.

'Guys, I'm going to the bar, want me to get you something?'

'God, yes!' Amelie took her eyes off Noire, who was just intimidating an action movie actor twice their size and succeeding. 'Vodka, double. No, make that triple.'

'Gin and tonic if you could.'

Spark looked at Carl with surprise.

'Taking it easy tonight?'

Carl smiled this smile of his that could mean anything.

'There are some people I might not have another chance to meet here and I'd like to remember it. Besides, the night is young and as the party is made for the entertainment industry people; the bar won't run out of alcohol too soon.'

'Fair.' Spark admitted. 'Blanche, you want something?'

'You know I don't drink during work, Spark.' Blanche's icy stare bore into Spark's eyes.

'You don't have to treat this as work, Blanche.'

'What would I treat is as, then? Fun?' Blanche bristled. They looked quite off - well, _more_ off than usual, ever since they left the car. A drink might have helped - but then again with how much of a lightweight Blanche was not drinking was probably the smart choice.

'Then maybe something non-alcoholic?'

Blanche considered that.

'If they have Red Tauros...'

'If they don't I'll make them go out and get it.' Spark grinned at Blanche and Amelie, who both looked like they weren't sure if he was joking. Carl looked unphased but after all those years Spark didn't expect anything else from him.

It's not like anyone could stop him anyway.  
 

*  
 

'What can I get you sir?'

'Red Tauros, triple Vodka, Gin and Tonic and Guinness please.' Spark leaned on the bar waiting for the bartender to pour the drinks.

'Are you Chris Beevans?' A long-legged blond lady asked Spark. He had a vague feeling he saw her somewhere before, but then again many aspiring actresses went for a similar look. He grinned.

'It depends; how much do I look like him?' The lady hesitated.

'Here are your drinks, sir.' Spark carefully grabbed the glasses from the bar.

'I have to take those to my friends but if at some point you decide I look similar enough I will be around.' Spark flashed another smile at the blond lady and walked away leaving her confused and blushing slightly.  
 

*  
 

'Heeere are your drinks esteemed guests!' Spark balanced the glasses carefully and handed one to Blanche.

'Red Tauros.'

'Thank you, Spark.' Blanche took the glass from him and drank from it greedily. 'Oh, cold.'

'For Amelie…' Spark looked at his hands; there seemed to be a glass missing, but he knew he didn't drop anything. '...iiiiis probably left at the bar, uh, sorry.'

'That's fine.' Amelie didn't seem too happy.

'No, no, I will get it in a moment! Carl, Gin and tonic. And if you could also hold my beer, I'll get Amelie's medicine.'

Amelie pretended to pout but there was an unmistakable shadow of a smile in the corner of her bright red lips.  
 

*  
 

'Hello, you seem to have forgotten to give me the vodka.' Spark flashed a smile at the bartender, who looked at him in confusion for a moment.

'You asked for a Red Tauros Vodka… the drink? With triple vodka?'

Spark remembered the yellow drink on ice he just gave to Blanche.

'Shiiiit!' he ran back to the group.

Blanche wasn't there.  
 

*  
 

'Is this really necessary?' Blanche followed Candela through the crowd towards a place where photos were taken in groups; they could see a telltale combination of black dress and silvery hair there.

'Look, I'm not overjoyed about being in a photo with Noire either.' There was an annoyance in Candela's voice even though she managed to keep it off her face. 'But they want a shot of all the Leaders with their stars and it's _is_ amazing publicity. I just hope Spark gets to us before either of us starts fighting with Noire.'

Blanche pinched the bridge of their nose. They were underslept, tired and hungry and even the Red Tauros seemed to taste wrong. There was too many people Blanche vaguely recognized from movies, even more people they didn't recognise but who _expected_ them to and…

And each time they met Noire tonight Noire did their best to pick on Blanche. Which, well, was _normal_. Honestly, Blanche knew they shouldn't expect anything else; it was quite unclear to them why it hurt more than usual. Maybe it was because…

Blanche looked at their left hand. A small eevee sticker was smiling cheerfully from their nail. Noire loved everything eevee and it was hard to think they'd separate from any eevee item and yet…

No. They knew where their relationship stood. This wasn't something up for questioning; they weren't going to give Noire a chance to hurt them again.

'Blanche, darling, get rid of that glass - I see Spark coming, we're going to start.'

Blanche looked at their glass and downed it in one go. No, it definitely tasted as if..

'Dooon't drink that Blancheee...ohshit,' Spark's voice came over the noise of the crowd and Blanche froze.

'Spark, _what did you do_?' they threw at him in the iciest tone they could muster.

'I'm sorry, there was alcohol in that, _I swear it was a mistake._ ' Spark flinched from the stare Blanche threw him and recoiled from the expression Candela made.

'Miss Candela, Mx Blanche, Mr. Spark, can you join us now?' The woman who came over was dressed much too sensibly to be one of the guests and thus had to be part of the photography team.

'Of course.' Candela put on her best smile, perfectly masking the anger that Blanche could just barely hear in her voice. They themselves felt both angry and confused. _Of course_ the weird taste of the drink was the addition of alcohol; how could they not notice?

'Blanche, are you okay?' Candela grabbed their arm gently.

'Yes, of course.' This wasn't true but they weren't planning to show any weakness now.  
 

*  
 

Amelie dabbed the antiseptic into four long scratches that diagonally marked Noire's face. She had been enjoying the party quite a lot, both because of the good alcohol and ample attention she managed to get when for once she wasn't easily identifiable as a Rocket employee. Having to abruptly leave the room to tend to Noire's injuries made her feel pretty vindictive. She put a quite generous amount of the antiseptic onto the cotton pad and quite unceremoniously slapped it onto the biggest cut.

'Holy fuck, Amelie!' Noire hissed.

'You know, you kind of brought this upon yourself. Why did you think sharpening Blanche's nails was a good idea?'

'I didn't expect them to use it as a fucking weapon.'

'You do have experience with what those can do from Spark, though.'

Noire wrinkled their nose.

'Blanche is not a savage like Spark.'

'Your face seems to prove otherwise.'

'That's... ' Noire broke off, visibly torn about something. Amelie sighed.

'What did you do boss?'

'I didn't do anything!' Noire flinched as Amelie proceeded to clean another scratch.

'Noire?' she asked sternly.

  


Noire pouted.

They hadn’t done anything differently than they usually did with Blanche outside of a fight. Hell, they didn't really say anything that much different from all the other little nasty comments they kept throwing at their twin all night. It _was_ true that Blanche's comebacks were pretty weak tonight but Noire didn't expect such a vivid expression of sadness and betrayal when they told Blanche they must be happy with the Valor bitch as their replacement - it's not like it was the first time either. Noire had been so stunned by Blanche's sudden outburst that they didn't even react until Spark grabbed Blanche to stop them from making even more interesting pattern on Noire's face.

Suddenly Noire caught a glimpse of long silvery hair with the corner of their eye. They were sitting in one of the actual restrooms that led to a bathroom and Blanche just sped past them,  visibly distressed their face a weird shade of green. Noire got up, making Amelie jump, and ran after them.

'Noire, what the hell?' Amelie shouted after them.

Noire found Blanche in one of the stalls, leaning with one of their hands on the water reservoir and heaving heavily.

'...Mon chou?' Noire asked.

Blanche didn't turn around; they threw up so violently their knees sagged and Noire caught them before they fell to the floor. Blanche heaved and convulsed  some more, but it seemed there wasn't much to throw up, just their body needed some time to realise that.

Noire held Blanche as they got up, led them to the sink and watched them rinse their mouth. Blanche was a lightweight but still it was completely unlike them to drink until throwing up; Noire wondered what could have happened for them to get this sick. Could it be…

'Blanche, have you eaten anything today?'

'Yes,' Blanche splashed their face with cold water. 'I ate breakfast…'

Oh for fucks sake…

'Blanche, it's 9 pm! You didn't eat the whole day and then decided to drink?' Noire grabbed Blanche's arms and turned Blanche to face them. Blanche's face was pale and they were shaking slightly.

'Of course not!' They pouted. 'That stupid Spark got me a wrong drink…'

Blanche didn't try to shake Noire's hands off; quite the opposite, they took a tiny step to get even closer and put their forehead on Noire's shoulder.

'He's a good friend but he can be pretty useless,' they whispered.

Noire realized they forgot how affectionate Blanche got when drunk. Here they were, one hand lightly holding Noire's waist, their damp bangs leaving a wet mark on the shoulder of Noire's dress. Open and defenseless in the face of a mortal enemy.

Noire gently put their hands around Blanche and hugged them tightly. This, this is how it should always be...

'Noire' Blanche put second hand around Noire's waist, their voice quiet and soft. 'Do you think we could…' Blanche's voice broke and Noire could feel their hands gripping the fabric of their dress. What was Blanche trying to say?

'Blanche, are you OK?' Spark ran into the bathroom. Noire felt Blanche's hands loosen their grip and a quiet sigh escaped Blanche's lips.

Stupid motherfucking asshole birbrain, how could _anyone_ have such a bad timing?

'Spark, the fuck?!' Noire barked. 'Is this true you got Blanche drunk?'

'I am sooo sorry!' The fucker had the decency to actually look sorry. 'Blanche accidentally got Amelie's alcohol.'

Noire froze, considering this for a moment.

'Wait, this could actually kill someone.'

'Boss, I find that quite offensive.' Amelie materialised next to Spark. 'One drink of mine wouldn't kill anyone.'

'Well, it's definitely enough to make someone sick.' Blanche was still in Noire's arms, back hunched. When was the last time Noire held them like that? Was it that moment at the airport when Willow took Blanche away from them? 'Blanche needs to go home.'

'I'll take them…' Spark took a step forward and Noire glared at him.

'You've done _enough_ for one night, asswipe. I think Blanche should be taken care of by someone _responsible_.'

'Surely you don't mean yourself, Rocket.' Great, now even Valor bitch was here. One would think it's possible to get _some_ privacy in the bathroom.

'And who the fuck you think would be? You, Valor?'

Candela's eyes narrowed, a red glint flashing in her eyes.

'You must be crazy if you think I'll let you be alone with Blanche.'

Two could play this game; Noire could feel the Shadow Corruption rise in them.

'I'm not the crazy raging b…'

'No, don't argue!' Blanche grabbed awkwardly a piece of Noire's dress and a piece of Candela's, pulling both closer. 'You both did my nails, let's all be friends tonight.'

The bathroom went quiet.

'Blanche' Candela said after a moment. 'Do you want me or Noire to take you home?'

'...Yes.'

Noire looked into Candela's hostile eyes. This was stupid. This wouldn't last. This _wasn't real_. It was obvious Blanche wouldn't feel like this tomorrow, when they sobered up.

Noire looked at Blanche, who kept looking between them and Candela, their face pale, their expression honest, affectionate and a bit childlike.

Maybe this wasn't real but holy fuck, they weren't able to resist it.

'Valor' Noire extended a hand towards Candela. 'Truce until tomorrow. And no one fucking learns about this.'

Candela hesitated for a moment but apparently she was also unable to resist Blanche's expression.

'Rocket,' She shook Noire's hand. 'I have a car waiting, just give me a moment to let Carl know he's being left on his own; no use it taking the fun away from him.'

'Uhm, it's OK, I'll do that.' Spark cut in, his face a weird mixture of concern and happiness.

'Boss, we can also take our car.' Amelie looked concerned, but only slightly.

Noire looked into Candela's eyes. It was obvious neither of them wanted to stir any trouble when Blanche was like this. They'd be able to control themselves even without Amelie.

'No, you can use it to come back when you want. Officially I'm not going to be there, so it's better if Rocket drivers know nothing about it.'

'Wow,' Candela looked at Noire with a surprised acknowledgement. 'So you _can_ think when you want to.'

'They have their moments.' Amelie smiled.

'AMELIE!'  
 

*  
 

Nickols adjusted his camera's ISO to match better the weak lightning on the street. He was a gossip reporter and he usually specialised in actors, but this was just too good of an opportunity to pass: a publicly known enemies of Rocket COO and leader of Go Project Valor team leaving the building together, leading along a usually collected leader of the Mystic team, now clearly drunk. This was bound to bring him some good money, but he needed a slightly better shot than the ones he got so far and needed to hurry before the group got into a car. He raised his camera…

And a natu landed on it, staring at him with unmistakable judgement in its eyes.

'Shoo!' Nickols flapped his hand and hit the natu, which gave an indignant squawk, jumped off the camera and glided to the ground to land next to a wheelchair.

'This is a rather rude way to treat a pokemon,' a man in the wheelchair said in a most polite tone. Both his hair and his skin were very light, making him stand out in the dim light. 'Then again, you seem to be equally rude towards pokemon _trainers_. It's not very sporting of you to take photos of such private matters.'

Nickols finally remembered who the man was; it was the second-in command of the Valor leader.

'Public figures in public places can expect to have their photo taken. Why would you, pokemon trainers, be an exception?'

'I believe the reason the gossip press usually avoids getting too close to our teams is that they are afraid.' The man gently petted the natu that jumped up onto his knees; another natu was already sitting there. Both were staring at Nickols.

What was the man's name again? Carlos?

'Are you trying to threaten me?' Nickols laughed. 'I've been in this business for fifteen years and so far nobody managed to successfully threaten me. And if you try - well, believe me I know the law very well, I know exactly how to sue your ass off.'

'If you've been in this business that long you should have stayed with an analog camera.' Another man came from behind Carlos, light hitting his eyes in a strange way that made it look like they glowed golden. 'You know those digital ones can lose the data pretty easily.'

The camera in Nickols' hands grew warm, sparks flying from it and hitting his hand with static so hard he dropped it; the camera hit the concrete, a cloud of smoke rising from the cracks in the plastic.

'I know who you are!' Nickols shouted, his hands shaking. 'You're the Team Instinct leader.'

The blond man before him smiled. It had to be a smile, all his teeth were visible, along with weirdly long canines.

'No, _not right now_.'  
 

***  
 

'WHERE ARE THEY?' Spark ran into the room and stopped sharply, his feet slipping on the floor, almost leaving skidmarks. Blanche pinched the bridge of their nose.

'I swear to Arceus Spark' they hissed, 'If you don't keep quiet I'm going to make an icicle out of you and throw you out of my headquarters.'

'Oh, right. Sorry.' Spark whispered.

'You _should_ be sorry, since this is your fa…' Blanche stared at a bag Spark pushed at them; it was full of isotonic drinks with an addition of a box of aspirin.

'I _really_ am very sorry Blanche. This should help.'

Blanche gingerly took one of the drinks out of the bag, opened it and started to drink. They knew they shouldn't drink energy drinks right now, as they could lead to even more dehydration, and they weren't sure how much of their annoyance was because of hangover and how much was caffeine withdrawal. Spark being so considerate of their condition was…. Comforting.

Downing the whole bottle made Blanche feel slightly better. They took a deep breath and looked at Spark, who could barely contain his excitement.

'Come.' They took another bottle with them and led Spark out of the room.  
 

*  
 

'A whole! Clutch! Of shiny eevees!' Spark somehow managed to make his whisper sound like an excited squeal.

'We've kept their shells for you to analyse.' Blanche opened a door and saw Spark's face light up even more when he heard the squeals. 'Hands!' Blanche ordered showing Spark an array of antibacterial substances and they proceeded to wash their own hands.

The eevees were with their mother, a jolteon belonging to Mystic Four, their silvery fur ruffled from the pokemon's static. Blanche came closer; the eevees climbed over the blanket to get to them. Blanche smiled - for some reason this clutch was afraid of many people but was very fond of them.

And of Spark, as it turned out when he crouched next to Blanche. Blanche wondered if it was his inherent nature or the subtle static electricity he didn't seem capable of getting rid of which probably reminded the eevees of their parent.

'They are wonderful, oh gosh, I need photos.' Spark stopped petting the eevees and took out his phone. 'All the photos!'

Blanche carefully took one of the tiny eevees into their hands; it fit just right.

'They are really cute, aren't they…'

'Oh, you still have the eevee nail!' Blanche realized that Spark just took a photo of them with the tiny eevee pawing their face.

'I… didn't have time to wash it off.' Yes. That was it. It's not like the nails done by Noire and Candela had any special meaning. Not at all.

'It looks great with the eevee! Can I post it to the Instagram? Please?'

'Spark….'

'Pleeaaaaseeeeee?'

Blanche sighed.

'Just have the location off. We don't need… people coming here trying to steal them.'  
 

*  
 

'I WANT THEM!' Amelie raised her head from the couch. Both she and Noire got a day off after the gala and Amelie was lounging in Noire's apartment nursing a slight hangover, Ember the ninetales sleeping in the corner while Noire alternated between playing with their eevee and Flashlight, Amelie's small vulpix, and messing with their phone.

'What do you want this time, Noire?'

'Spark has posted a photo of a whole clutch of recently! Hatched! Shiny! Eevees!'

Amelie sighed; she had hoped not to have to leave the couch today, except for the bathroom or fridge.

'You don't have to have _every_ shiny eevee in town, boss.'

'Of course I do! There is no location, though, and I don't recognise this interior…' Noire swiped the screen and their face froze. Amelie looked at them for a moment, sighed, put her book down and rolled over to grab her own phone. She booted up the browser and navigated to Spark's instagram, Noire still not making any sound. There it was, a picture of the eevees, cute and tiny next to a jolteon that wasn't Spark's. And the next picture…

The next picture couldn't' be Noire - the clothes were different and the expression was definitely subtler than Noire's… but Amelie never thought the Mystic leader's face was capable of such a soft, fond expression when holding an eevee. Thinking about it, they _were_ a team leader, so they had to like pokemon, but as she had only ever met Blanche in the presence of Noire, Amelie knew them only upset or angry. Blanche happy at a small pokemon pawing their face was… unexpected.

'They're really cute' Amelie admitted, 'But please don't tell me you want to go on a search for them.'  
 

*  
 

Noire frowned at their screen. Blanche's presence suggested the eevees might be at Mystic headquarters and stealing them might piss Blanche off. This seemed fair, considering the four long scabs covered in healing ointment on Noire's face. And yet…

When they left Blanche at Mystic headquarters with Candela the previous night it felt so… normal. It was as if there was still a place for them in Blanche's heart. Of course Blanche was drunk then but… It was visible on the photo Blanche kept the nails, little eevee sticker smiling happily.

Noire bit their lips. Blanche's face was pale and there were dark circles under their eyes. Noire remembered the times at the lab, on days after some of the worse experiments, when Blanche was hiding their suffering but their eyes still told the tale. Now Blanche was up and working even though last night they were visibly exhausted, leaning on Noire, their judgement impaired enough to allow themselves the level of trust they shouldn't considering they were now enemies.

And Blanche didn't properly sleep it off; they were already up and running. To make matters worse,they had already been tired enough the previous day to fall asleep on that sofa.

Just how sleep deprived was Blanche?

Noire opened the texting app and started typing.

' _I will not attempt to steal the eevees if you send me all the photos of them you are capable of making_.'

Spark's reply came almost instantly.

' _I was planning to anyway. Anything other requests?_ '

Noire stroked the tails of the small vulpix who curled around their eevee, both pokemon looking incredibly cute when resting.

_'I hope you guys take better care of them than Blanche does of themselves_.' Noire pressed send and let their phone drop onto the carpet. They rolled over and curled on the floor, making a ring around the now sleeping pokemon. Noire listened to the animals' rhythmic breathing and nodded off…

A sound of incoming email awoke them from their nap. It was Spark, sharing a photo folder with a comment ' _How's that?_ '

There was almost a hundred photos of tiny eevees playing, tiny eevees feeding, tiny eevees being cute. The last photo was of Blanche, lying on a couch and sleeping, a tiny eevee curled close to their face.

Spark wasn't that useless after all.

' _Fucking acceptable_.'

  


**Author's Note:**

> Written for the first Anniversary of the "And the Wolrld Will Turn to Ash" comic by Surfacage http://www.surfacage.net  
> (Ashiversary project: https://ashiversary.tumblr.com/ )  
> Thank you for your wonderful work <3
> 
> (This was supposed to be short)
> 
> \---  
> Since I decided to time those for myself in case we get some big canon reveals: written after A New Leader page 8


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